Vehicle engines may be configured to operate using diesel or gasoline fuels. Many diesel and gasoline engines include turbochargers, or superchargers configured to force more air mass into an engine's intake manifold and combustion chamber by compressing intake air with a compressor driven by a turbine disposed to capture energy from the flow of the engine exhaust gas. However, compression tends to heat the intake air, leading to a reduction of the density of this charge air. Charge air coolers may be used to compensate for heating caused by supercharging.
However, under certain speed, load, and atmospheric conditions, the charge air cooler can generate a large quantity of water condensate, which can remain trapped within the charge air cooler under steady state conditions. Upon wide open throttle command, a large mass rate of air is blown through the charge air cooler, and the result may be a large quantity of condensate being ingested by the engine. The inventors herein have recognized that with certain manifold designs, this ingested condensate may be concentrated in a single bank of cylinders, which may cause misfire conditions. The inventors herein have further recognized a slow ingestion rate may help to reduce misfire conditions.
Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure provide one or more condensate traps that may be located in the cold charge duct (CCD), such as downstream of a charge air cooler, but upstream of the engine intake manifold. An example trap may include a reservoir bonded to the cold charge duct via, for example, plastic welding to provide a pres sure-tight seal. The trap may be sized so that the velocity of the condensate will quickly drop, allowing the water to pool at the bottom of the trap. The trap may include a drain spigot that may use a flow rate metering foam structure, which may reduce rapid discharge of the trapped condensate. The trap open end (open to the CCD) may be shaped in such a fashion as to facilitate the entrainment of water/air through the opening in the CCD. The shape may be, for example, a curved structure located at the head of the trap reservoir. The trap opening may be created by cutting a semi-circle of CCD material and forming it into an inlet edge protruding into the cold charge duct flow stream. In this way, condensate entrained in the air flow may tend to be intercepted by the trap inlet and forced into the large diameter trap, losing velocity and falling to the bottom to be slowly re-ingested, the re-ingestion flow rate limited by the metering structure.
Various embodiments may be configured to be easily packaged underhood. Embodiments may be more cost effective than, for example, a new CAC design or centrifugal trap designs. Embodiments may be applicable to various turbo-charging, supercharging, or otherwise boosted engine applications with a charge air cooler.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.